Penn-Ohio Game: West A's Cunningham chose wisely

CHIPPEWA TWP. -- In the eternal battle between one’s heart and one’s head, sometimes the heart really does know best.

That was the case for Colin Cunningham this year. The recent West Allegheny graduate knew that the logical decision would have been to walk away from football his senior year for the sake of his body.

“I had been in a cast three times already,” said Cunningham. “I broke my ankle as a freshman and then had surgery on both thumbs and then broke my thumb again. I was tired of playing in a cast -- I felt cursed.

“I had a long talk with Coach (Bob) Palko about whether I should keep playing or not. He let me make my own decision but, afterward, he told me he knew I couldn’t walk away, that I loved the game too much. He was right.

“I’d have to say I am pretty happy with the decision I made.”

To say Cunningham is happy with the decision is probably an understatement. After he decided to stick with football, he and his Indians teammates earned a WPIAL Class AAA gold medal, defeating West Mifflin 34-8 at Heinz Field.

Then he was offered the chance to extend his football career at Westminster and now he’ll play Friday (7 p.m.) in the 34th annual Bellissomo & Pierce Penn-Ohio All-Star Football Classic at Geneva College’s Reeves Field.

“For me, this is a huge opportunity after almost dropping the game,” said Cunningham, who at 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds will be the smallest player in a Pennsylvania uniform. “I had a couple of friends play in the game last year so I knew about it. It’s been really great playing with guys that used to be rivals. I never really thought I’d be playing in it, though.”

After Cunningham’s fateful decision that changed his and West Allegheny’s direction this season, an all-star football game may have been far from his mind but extending his career wasn’t. He hadn’t completely shaken the injury bug, but it was just a speed bump at the pace his career was progressing.

“I hurt my knee in the first round playoff game (a 48-7 win over Ringgold) but I rehabbed hard and was back for the next game,” Cunningham said. “It wasn’t until the second round of the playoffs that colleges started to notice me.

“I chose Westminster and didn’t wrestle this past winter to concentrate on football and now I’m here.”

Not exactly, the logical place for him to be -- but it seems it may have been meant to be.

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